Unusually powerful M6.1 Earthquake hit near Nabire in Indonesia on Friday Night.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on September 18th, 2025. Last updated November 17th, 2025.

Deep in the night of Friday September 19th, 2025, an unusually powerful M6.1 earthquake hit under land 26 kilometer from Nabire in Indonesia. Shaking may have been felt by a total of 1.4 million people.

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Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in Indonesia, 26 kilometer (16 mi) south of Nabire in Papua. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 28 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Sep 19, 2025 03:19 (Jayapura Time) - Sep 18, 2025 18:19 Universal Time.
Location:	26 km south of Nabire, Papua, Indonesia. Coordinates 3°35'39"S 135°28'21"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 6.1 Detected by 63 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.039 .
Depth:	28 km (17 mi) A quite shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VII Very Strong On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Tsunami very unlikely While this was a shallow earthquake in a coastal area, it appears to have occurred under land (25 km from the sea) with a magnitude that is usually not strong enough to cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Minimal impact predicted

The US Geographic Survey (USGS) describes the impact of this earthquake as follows:

Three people injured. At least 15 buildings, two bridges damaged and power and telecommunication outages in Nabire.

Based on scientific estimates by the USGS, the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities, and a 96% chance that the number of fatalities falls no higher than 10.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level GREEN (low). They expect an 94% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact.

Roughly 1.4 million people exposed to shaking

This earthquake may have been felt by around 1.4 million people. That is the expected population size of the area exposed to a level of shaking of II or higher on the Modified Mercalli scale according to the USGS.

Very strong shaking and likely moderate damage may have been experienced by an estimated 8,970 people. At VII, it is the highest MMI level this earthquake has caused. Intensity level IV was experienced by the majority of people (around 0.9 million). In their region, light shaking and likely no damage can be expected. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of Indonesia .

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in Indonesia . Located 26 kilometer (16 mi) south of the epicenter of this earthquake, Nabire (Papua, Indonesia) is the nearest significant population center. The intensity of shaking and damage in Nabire is estimated to be around level VI on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (strong shaking, probably light damage).

Overview of nearby places

Earthquake Intensity Map

The graph below overlays a map of the region around the epicenter with earthquake intensity data provided by the US Geographic Survey. The highest intensity level detected for this earthquake is VII.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Shaking reported by 1 person

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 1 person has reported shaking in one place in Indonesia.We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

• Aberpura, Papua, Indonesia: 1 person.

29 Aftershocks detected

After this earthquake struck, 29 smaller aftershocks occurred. A 3.7 magnitude earthquake hit 2 days later 18 km (11 mi) north-northeast of this earthquake.

Before this earthquake struck, 16 smaller foreshocks occurred. A 4.4 magnitude earthquake hit 2 days earlier nearby.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

More earthquakes coming?

Earthquakes can create aftershocks. These are generally at least 1 magnitude lower than any main shock, and as time passes the chance and strength of aftershocks decreases.

In only six percent of cases, significant earthquakes are followed by a larger main shock, making the current earthquake a foreshock. While the chance of this happening is not so large, it is adviced to maintain cautiousness in the hours and days following a major earthquake.

This is an unusually powerful earthquake

No earthquake of this strength has struck this region for a long time. Our data goes back 10 years, and no earthquakes measuring a magnitude of 6.1 or higher have been detected within 300 km (186 mi) of this epicenter.

Tsunami very unlikely

While MAG-6.5+ earthquakes may cause tsunami's, it appears that the epicenter of this earthquake hit under land. In addition, the reported depth is deeper than 100km, making the risk of a tsunami even less likely. However always stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Sources

Last updated 17/11/25 02:58 (). As more information on this earthquake becomes available this article will be updated. This article is automatically composed based on data originating from multiple sources.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us7000qx1z
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20250918_0000261
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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